What fish would do well in my aquarium?

[fishyfriends3]

All of those fish should adapt just fine to a ph of 8. That's what mine were kept at for quite a while and there were no issues.

Yes they should adapt I guess it's a question of whether the fishkeeper should adapt to the needs of his/her fish. Or you force the fish in your care to adapt to the needs you give them.

 

[Mebbid]

I guess it depends if you want your fish to adapt to you or you adapt to your fish.

More often than not trying to adjust your ph causes more trouble than it solves. The fish can comfortably adjust to the ph of the tank and live long happy lives so why would you go through with the effort of changing the water chemistry creating the potential for huge problems.

 

[fishyfriends3]

I totally disagree I guess it's a question of ethics. If you feel comfortable doing that I don't.

 

[Toad]

Fish deal with various temp swing and other variations in the wild and survive. Most of the fish the OP is interested in are usually bred by people and deal with non native water ph. I agree that constantly trying to adjust the water to a ph that would in the native range of these fish would pose possibly more health issues with wild swings in a small water supply than just acclimating them. Especially if they are from a local store.

 

[steph101]

Fish deal with various temp swing and other variations in the wild and survive. Most of the fish the OP is interested in are usually bred by people and deal with non native water ph. I agree that constantly trying to adjust the water to a ph that would in the native range of these fish would pose possibly more health issues with wild swings in a small water supply than just acclimating them. Especially if they are from a local store.

Yes lots of people have told me not to mess with ph so I guess ill get the fish and just let them adapt to the water. I dont want to always be adding ph down or up to my water because its unstable environment. Im sure the fish will adapt fine as my pet store probably has the same water.

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[Mebbid]

I totally disagree I guess it's a question of ethics. If you feel comfortable doing that I don't.

What exactly is unethical / inhumane about it?

 

[fishyfriends3]

I use an ro unit and re mineralise my water to suit. This wont be an issue if you buy locally bred fish.

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[Alan79]

Ok everyone seems to have taken tangents with heaters and things so i'll give you the stocklist of my tank. I have a 20g high tank that i am in the process of stocking with 2 schools of 9 and 6 Kuhli loaches. 9 Neon Tetras are one school and the other school is Harlequin Rasboras and i still need 5 more to make up the 9 of those. I was only able to get the 1 Kuhli until they restock at the LFS as well. The Tetras and Rasboras get along well and they follow the Kuhli when it comes out like it is the parade leader. I could have gone for 1 school of either NT's or a school of the HR's and a pair of Blue Rams instead of the second school while still keeping 6 Kuhli Loaches.

So maybe think about
1 school of about 8-9 Tetras or Rasboras
1 school of bottom feeders like a small species of Corydora (possibly about 5-6) or Kuhli loaches (who might only come out while you sleep)
1 slightly larger fish that will really catch the eye. Seen people suggesting dwarf gouramis although i know nothing of them. I was going to have 2 Blue Rams

Or you could use something like my stocklist.
9 Neon Tetras
9 Harlequin Rasboras
6 Kuhli Loaches

When i am fully stocked i will think about adding a few cherry shrimp. My tank is very heavily planted and have 30g filtration on a 20g tank so i will go over the recommended stocking by about 6%.

You can use aquadvisor.com To run the numbers you can keep when you decide what you like.

 

[fishyfriends3]

What exactly is unethical / inhumane about it?

Sorry this is way off topic now but just noticed this question. If your lucky enough to have a lfs that has locally bred fish that have carefully adjusted to the water parameters of their stock over time to the local water then great. If your not so fortunate then I believe its best practice to do lots of research into the requirements of the fish your interested in and check if you can provide those requirements. If you can't its unfair to purchase fish and hope they will adapt to the conditions you can provide.

 

[RTDav]

Ever thought about guppies? Full of personality and the males can really catch the eye!

 

[Rivers2k]

That's what I love about this site 3 pages and someone just now answered the OP's question (Thank You Alan). People are to busy wanting to show what they know or don't know. Obviously the op was stating the range of the heater. People are throwing around terms like PH and they dont even really know what they mean. Almost all fish will be fine in ph out of the tap unless the tap water is undrinkable. The fish you have now are so far removed from natural environment you are fooling your self by thinking you are do anything by messing with the ph.

So now to the ops question types of fish for an 18 gallon tank.

You best fish starting out for that size tank will be,
Guppies, Barbs, Danios, Mollies, platties, sword tails, and dwarf gouramies.

Google those let us know what you like best and we can create a stocking list from there.

 

[Mebbid]

That's what I love about this site 3 pages and someone just now answered the OP's question (Thank You Alan). People are to busy wanting to show what they know or don't know. Obviously the op was stating the range of the heater. People are throwing around terms like PH and they dont even really know what they mean. Almost all fish will be fine in ph out of the tap unless the tap water is undrinkable. The fish you have now are so far removed from natural environment you are fooling your self by thinking you are do anything by messing with the ph.

So now to the ops question types of fish for an 18 gallon tank.

You best fish starting out for that size tank will be,
Guppies, Barbs, Danios, Mollies, platties, sword tails, and dwarf gouramies.

Google those let us know what you like best and we can create a stocking list from there.

As a matter of fact the op was asked multiple times on what kinds of fish caught their eye so we could have a base line for what to stock in the tank. Rattling off a list of random fish that can fit in a tank gets tiring after you do it 100+ times.

The above suggestions from Alan and rivers are good ones minus the mollies and swordtails since they get a bit large for that tank.

 

[steph101]

Ok everyone seems to have taken tangents with heaters and things so i'll give you the stocklist of my tank. I have a 20g high tank that i am in the process of stocking with 2 schools of 9 and 6 Kuhli loaches. 9 Neon Tetras are one school and the other school is Harlequin Rasboras and i still need 5 more to make up the 9 of those. I was only able to get the 1 Kuhli until they restock at the LFS as well. The Tetras and Rasboras get along well and they follow the Kuhli when it comes out like it is the parade leader. I could have gone for 1 school of either NT's or a school of the HR's and a pair of Blue Rams instead of the second school while still keeping 6 Kuhli Loaches.

So maybe think about
1 school of about 8-9 Tetras or Rasboras
1 school of bottom feeders like a small species of Corydora (possibly about 5-6) or Kuhli loaches (who might only come out while you sleep)
1 slightly larger fish that will really catch the eye. Seen people suggesting dwarf gouramis although i know nothing of them. I was going to have 2 Blue Rams

Or you could use something like my stocklist.
9 Neon Tetras
9 Harlequin Rasboras
6 Kuhli Loaches

When i am fully stocked i will think about adding a few cherry shrimp. My tank is very heavily planted and have 30g filtration on a 20g tank so i will go over the recommended stocking by about 6%.

You can use aquadvisor.com To run the numbers you can keep when you decide what you like.

Thanks that was really helpful.
Dont you think that many fish is a little over stocked for an 18 gal or would it be fine? What decor/plants would you recommend?

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Im thinking 7 neon tetras
4 sterba cories
3 guppies
1 male betta OR dwarf guoarmi

 

[steph101]

That's what I love about this site 3 pages and someone just now answered the OP's question (Thank You Alan). People are to busy wanting to show what they know or don't know. Obviously the op was stating the range of the heater. People are throwing around terms like PH and they dont even really know what they mean. Almost all fish will be fine in ph out of the tap unless the tap water is undrinkable. The fish you have now are so far removed from natural environment you are fooling your self by thinking you are do anything by messing with the ph.

So now to the ops question types of fish for an 18 gallon tank.

You best fish starting out for that size tank will be,
Guppies, Barbs, Danios, Mollies, platties, sword tails, and dwarf gouramies.

Google those let us know what you like best and we can create a stocking list from there.

Thanks for the suggestions! I shall do some research on them and see what ones i like
Yes people are way to busy showing off what they know or dont know about ph and whatnot. It takes a bit for the question to be answered but I think ive finally stumbled upon some people on here who can give me relevant advice

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[flitabout]

I like love this site it gives a good place to start looking and good information about the fish. Freshwater Fish: Freshwater Tropical Fish Species for Tropical Fish Tanks I window shop here all the time!!!!

 

[steph101]

Im thinking 7 neon tetras
4 sterba cories
3 guppies (maybe)
1 male betta OR dwarf guoarmi

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[flitabout]

I would say go with the betta. They are considerably more sturdy than dwarf gouramis. But not the guppies. The betta may see the fancy guppy males as a rival because of their flowy fins.

 

[pittbully13]

I agree go with the betta and nix the guppies. Just add more neons.

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[pittbully13]

Or maybe 6 neons and 6 white clouds. The white clouds and handle a that high of a ph and if the heater breaks they wouldn't mind.

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[steph101]

So how about:
7 neons
4 sterba cories
1 betta

What else could I add to that? Or is that enough for my 18gal tank

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